Love

Thanksgiving is When we Give thanks and When we Give out of Love
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The holiday season beings with the start of Thanksgiving. This is a time to take the emphasizes off us, focus on appreciating others, and give thanks. This should be the mindset, not only during he holiday season, but throughout the year – to show love and appreciation for others.

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Thanks

It’s a time to reflect and think about the people, places, and things that you are thankful for – to give thanks. Especially, a time to give thanks to God for His many blessings of love, forgiveness, protection, favor, and more. Think of three people, places, and things you want to thank God for giving to you. It could be family, friends, and a warm home. Take a moment to reflect on how good God is to you.

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Giving

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Giving is what God does and He did it out of love. We cannot match what God gave, but we can believe he did it out of love for us.

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Giving, as an expression of love, can be something simple as giving of your time to giving a smile. Think of three opportunities that you could give to someone, a church, or an institution. It does not always need to financial. You could volunteer your time at your child’s school, volunteer at a church, or give a donation to a charity. Whatever God places on your heart to do, take the time and do it.

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Thanks, and giving are important in showing love to others. Sometimes what someone might need is for you to give a listening ear. That too demonstrates the act of giving.


Peace

What is disturbing your peace? God can give us peace. According to Psalm 29:11, "The Lord will give strength to HIs people; The Lord will bless His people with peace". Also, there are times when we need to get back our peace. In Mark 4:35-41, there was a storm and the discipline became fretful. Focusing on verse 39, "Then He [Jesus] arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm". Jesus rebuked the behavior that caused the sea to be unsettled and He spoke to the sea and told it how to behave. What behavior is making you uneasy and disturbing your peace? There are times when you have to rebuke what is influencing the bad habit or behavior and then instruct how to behave in order to calm a situation. It appears that you would need to rebuke one and instruct the other in order to regain your peace!


Joy

In John 10:10, we read that "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly". One of the things the thief tries to steal is joy - the joy of family, the joy of friends, the joy of life, and other areas that bring us joy. Also, in these relationships, he tries to kill and destroy. We hear about divorce, broken relationships, and more. Jesus came to restore the areas that have been broken, so we can have a fruitful life. The Lord strengthens us in areas where we are weak. All it takes is to remember to not allow circumstances to bring us grief, but allow God to strengthen us in the circumstance by bringing us His joy - the joy of knowing He loves and cares for us, always.